You're the Magic in My Veins
by lovethatignites
Summary: "I just knew that... if he did love me, he'd know." Emma's teeth started chattering as she took Jax's hand in hers. "And I knew that because... suddenly I knew that I'm not in love with Daniel, because I finally figured out what the feeling I have for you is." In which our beautiful Jemma is done justice after everything that went down in season two. Oneshot.


**A/N: I was making myself too sad so I had to write this. Wrote it all today. My longest oneshot yet. Title is another line from Boom Clap by Charli XCX. Also, I have some new EWW videos up on my YouTube (link in my profile). Enjoy.**

* * *

Emma Alonso sat at her desk, commonly referred to as Scrapbooking Central, tapping her nails against the wood. She'd sat down half an hour ago with the intent of finishing a scrapbook she was making for her best friend, Andi Cruz, but she hadn't accomplished anything. She'd extracted the zombie/friendship scrapbook from her bookshelf and lifelessly flipped through the pages. Only two blank ones remained and Emma knew exactly which pictures she wanted to fill them with, she knew exactly where she would place them and at what angle, and yet… she couldn't.

She'd had this dull ache in her heart all day for a reason that she didn't want to acknowledge. She'd been walking down the hallway hand-in-hand with her boyfriend Daniel Miller when her eyes landed upon two people making out in front of a locker. Usually Emma would have raised her eyebrows, looked away, and thought to herself, _Get a room_. But this time was different because it wasn't just any two people making out.

It was Jax Novoa and Mia Vélez.

Ever since Jax had returned from Rebel's Boot Camp with the rebellious blonde, he'd hardly spoken two words to Emma. The glittery girl had tried to be friendly to him but he just didn't seem to have any desire for her to be a part of his life anymore. She'd meant what she'd said last school year when she broke up with him: she wanted them to be friends. And sure, the whole him trying to take over the world with E thing had put a bit of a strain on the friendship, but they'd gotten past that after a couple of months. When Jax left for boot camp, Emma had been there to say goodbye. She'd even given him a friendly hug, despite Daniel's disapproval. Things had seemed fine, Jax had seemed fine, but fast forward three months and it was like Emma didn't exist to him.

It made sense, though. Mia was gorgeous. She had this naturally wavy blonde hair that reached a bit past her shoulders, piercing blue eyes, and a perfect body. Her laugh was enticing and she was… care-free. She was exactly the type of girl Emma had told Jax he should be with—someone he could have fun with and enjoy himself with and not feel constrained with, someone who didn't like rules and was spontaneous and made him happy. And Emma had meant it when she said it.

So why was it every time she saw Mia, she wanted to claw her eyes out?

It wasn't like Mia had ever done anything to her. Emma had exchanged a word or two with her in their fourth period history class, and practically each time, Mia found a way to bring up Jax. And each time, it opened up this pit in Emma's stomach. It made her so angry but she didn't understand why! Emma talked about Daniel a lot to other people—Andi would vouch for that. Maddie Van Pelt talked about Diego Rueda a lot. It was natural for teenage girls to talk about their boyfriends frequently. It wasn't like Mia was doing anything wrong by talking about Jax a lot, and yet every time Emma heard the rebel wizard's name come off the rebel witch's lips, she wanted to smack her so hard she flew back to wherever she even came from.

Emma wasn't used to feeling this way toward anyone. She'd never hated anyone in her life, not even Maddie, so why was Mia getting under her skin so much?

The truth was Emma was afraid she knew the answer.

She was jealous.

Everything about the word felt wrong. First of all, Emma was in a relationship. She shouldn't be jealous of another girl being with Jax; she shouldn't care about Jax's or any other guy's relationship status at all! Yet she'd found herself battling these thoughts for the past three weeks from the moment Jax pulled up to school with Mia on the back of his dirt bike, her stupid thin arms wrapped around his torso. Emma was terrified of riding the dirt bike yet her immediate thought had been, _That should be me._ The thought had freaked her out to say the least, especially since she'd been holding hands with Daniel when it popped up. She'd quickly dismissed it and returned to chatting with her boyfriend about his family's summer vacation. But her eyes hadn't been able to miss the way Jax and Mia had looked at each other. It had made her feel like she was going to throw up.

Second, Jax was clearly happy with Mia. Emma had noticed there were some days the two seemed more Good Student-y at school, at which point she had realized they weren't really Jax and Mia; they were Junior and a Mia clone. Jax would of course use that spell again, and Mia clearly didn't minded using it. They'd used an illegal spell so they could skip school, two things Emma wasn't comfortable doing. _See, she makes him happy,_ she'd thought. _They both disregard rules and they both like to do crazy things for fun. They deserve to be together._

And yet, Emma detested the fact that they were together. It made her feel so bad inside and she couldn't understand why. Unless, of course, she really was the J-word. But that was an extremely scary possibility because if she was jealous, that proposed the question _why? _She didn't like Jax that way… did she? Well, there was always the fact that—

No! She was not going to think about that. Whatever she'd felt for him last year on that first day they'd met, she'd immediately buried. It was long gone now…

Right?

She leaned her head back and groaned. This was all so frustrating! And the worst part was she couldn't talk to anybody about it. She couldn't talk to Daniel for obvious reasons. She couldn't talk to her dad because he would push her to dump Daniel and get back together with Jax. And she couldn't talk to Andi because she would push her to stay with Daniel and assure her she didn't like Jax. Which should have been what she wanted to hear…

But the truth was Emma didn't want to hear it because the truth was there was something inside of her, whatever it may be, that she'd never felt for Daniel, something that had resurfaced the first day of junior year and had been constantly screaming YOU HAVE FEELINGS FOR JAX ever since and she could not ignore it any longer. She could not. If she really did have feelings for Jax, she needed to do something to make them go away, because clearly, burying them deep down inside herself last year had not worked. He was happily with Mia, and Emma was… sorta happily with Daniel. Sometimes she wasn't sure where they stood, but she was mostly happy with their relationship. Emma having feelings for Jax wasn't good for anyone at this point (well, besides her dad. Oh, Francisco…) so she needed to find a way to stop.

Suddenly, an idea popped into Emma's brain. Every time she saw Jax and Mia together, they were usually kissing or holding hands or something like that. She'd never actually heard the two of them hold a conversation. When Emma and Jax dated, they usually got into fights every time they tried to hold a conversation. So maybe if Emma heard Jax and Mia really talking, maybe if they were good at conversing—they talked about things they both liked, they were happy, they weren't fighting, etc.—she'd really accept that Jax was better off with Mia than with her and this silly mystery feeling she had for him would go away.

Shakily, Emma got to her feet, flicked the lights out, and walked over to her bed. She plopped down just in front of her pillows, took a deep breath, and cleared her mind of the thoughts telling her _This is an invasion of privacy don't do it._ She twirled her finger and spoke:

_"I'm not convinced,_

_ But I need to be;_

_ Show me Jax and Mia,_

_ Let me see."_

She pointed her finger it at the wall across from her and traced the shape of a rectangular box in the air. Her purple magic appeared on the wall, following along with her finger until it had created a closed rectangular figure. The center flashed a few times and showed "TV snow" while it found the correct "channel." Emma's heart thudded in her chest as the picture began to flicker and come into focus.

It worked.

Jax and Mia were somewhere outside under the night sky, sitting in lawn chairs. In front of them a fire was softly crackling and it appeared they were set up a few yards off the beach.

Emma's heart immediately caught in her throat. A bonfire near the ocean? Jax had done that with Emma first! Katie's surprise party much! She swallowed hard and resisted the urge to look away. She needed to see this. She needed to hear this. She didn't have any other idea of how to convince herself Jax was better off with Mia and she really, really needed to convince herself Jax was better off with Mia.

A variety of snacks was set up on a miniature table placed between them. Mia's throaty laugh rang out as the Australian cutie reached inside a bag of mini marsh mellows, grabbed a handful, and whipped them at her. She defensively said, "What? It's a compliment!"

"Implying I used to be a bad kisser is not a compliment."

"I didn't say you used to be _bad;_ I said you've gotten _better_."

Emma dug her nails into the heels of her palms and clenched her jaw.

"Yeah, whatever."

"Look, all I'm saying is a few more make out sessions with me and you will be one hundred percent ready to blow Emma away with your mad kissing skills."

Wait. What?

Jax looked defeated. "I don't think that's gonna happen."

"What do you—"

"She's barely spoken to me since I turned down hanging out with her last week, Mia. I told you that would push her away."

"Jax, Jax, Jax." The blonde shook her head. "You, my friend, do not understand how the average female operates."

"No, I've got the average female down pat," he assured her. "But Emma is not the average female." Then, more quietly, he added, "Emma's not the average anything…"

Emma's heart practically exploded upon hearing those words, but she was still so beyond confused.

"Look," Mia said softly, "I know how you feel, but—"

"No, actually, you really don't know how I feel," he said, giving her a superior look. "I've got a thing for the most beautiful witch in the world, and you've got a thing for the most pathetic human in existence."

"Daniel is not pathetic!"

"Oh, give me a break. You sound like Emma."

"But I'm not Emma," she smirked. "I'm better. And once she goes back to you, I'm gonna prove as much to Mr. Miller. And more."

Emma realized now she was sitting up super straight, hanging on to their every word. The more she heard, the more confused she became. But she needed to keep learning more because maybe then she could piece it together and—

"The guy doesn't exactly value making out, Mia."

"All guys value making out."

"Oh, really? Then explain to me why for his one year with Emma, he took her to see _Twilight: On Ice_ with his parents as their chaperones."

Mia blushed and stuttered. "Uh… Well… I mean…"

Jax smirked and popped a mini marsh mellow in his mouth. "Eeeexactly."

"Well, it doesn't even matter because once I'm his girlfriend, we'll do romantic things all the time!"

"Does he even know you exist?"

"He will! Just as soon as Emma breaks up with him."

"You say that like it's going to happen."

"What is the matter with you?" Mia threw her hands up with frustration. "When we came up with this plan the day before school started after I saw Daniel at The Beachside 7, you were so confident it would work."

"That was before it _didn't_ work twenty days in a row."

"Jax, I'm telling you, no girl would be able to resist for much longer. We just have to keep it up for a few more days and—"

"No _average_ girl would be able to resist for much longer, Mia!" Jax exclaimed, sitting up in his chair. "Average! Emma's not average! She's…" He ran a hand through his hair with frustration and inhaled sharply. "She's special. She's really, really special, and… you don't get it."

Mia placed her hand on his. "Yes I do. You like her—"

"No, Mia, I don't like her!" he yelled, pulling his hand away. "I'm…"

Emma was perched on the edge of her bed, shaking from how intense this was getting.

Jax's chest rose and fell several times as he debated whether or not to say whatever he was thinking out loud. And then he chose to. "I'm in love with her."

Emma's heart stopped for a full second.

"She…" He visibly gulped before he continued. "She's the most wonderful girl I've ever met in my life. She's so innocent and pure and nice and her heart is so… it always wants to do the right thing. She tries so hard to protect the people she cares about. She even took full blame for erasing Daniel's memory when it was both our faults. And why? I've never meant anything to her. She did it because of who she is. She tries so hard to make sure everyone is okay…" He looked at the ground beneath them. "Except when she doesn't believe they deserve it."

"Hey," Mia whispered. "She isn't perfect. The way she treated you after you kissed E… the way she just heartlessly said, 'Of course it wasn't me'…"

"Maybe she didn't realize how it sounded…"

"Why do you do that? Wh-Why do you make excuses for her when she's hurt you so much?"

"Because she's a good witch and I'm not a good wizard, Mia," he said in a barely audible voice with a smile completely devoid of happiness. "I'm not, but she used to think I was. So of course I had to screw it up. But I guess that's for the best. She shouldn't be blind to the truth."

Emma didn't realize she was crying until she felt the tears rolling down her cheeks. "No," she croaked desperately at the screen. "You _are_ a good wizard."

"It's selfish, what we're doing. Emma doesn't deserve to have her feelings manipulated. Not that it's working, but I shouldn't be _trying_ to manipulate her feelings whether it works or not."

"Okay, maybe it's kinda selfish," Mia conceded. "But we have good reasons! You said yourself Daniel's not good for Emma."

"Oh, he's not," Jax clarified. "He's definitely not. I mean, _I_ don't deserve her, but he sure as _hell_ doesn't deserve her." He swallowed again and mumbled, "Yet he's the one she loves…"

Mia didn't seem to know what to say. She placed her hand on his again and this time he didn't pull away.

"They shouldn't be together," he said at last. "And I'm not saying that just because I'm jealous; I'm saying it because it's the truth. He can't protect her. She's the Chosen One; Desdemona wanted them together so she could steal Emma's powers and she won't be the only one who will try. All he does is put her in danger. I mean, I know I put her in danger last year, but…

"I mean," Jax turned in the chair so he was facing Mia, moving his hand in the process, "my dad sent me here with one task: make Emma trust me enough to go along with his Last Light plan. But the second I laid eyes on her… Mia, I was bored waiting for her to show up, so I was sitting there making a pen levitate, and I've always had such precision with spells, potions, everything magical. But the second she walked through that door and I saw her…" He sort of laughed. "I completely forgot about the pen and it clattered onto her dad's desk."

He paused, seemingly debating on if he should keep going. But Mia was being an unusually good and respectful listener, which seemed to encourage him to go for it. "I'd had lots of girlfriends before, but I'd never been in love. It was just physical attraction, you know? I'd think, _She's hot,_ but I never really felt anything for them. Most of my life, I've never let myself feel anything for anyone. But when I saw Emma… My heart just…"

Emma covered her mouth with her hands and sobbed.

"I completely forgot about my dad's plan until the end of our tour, when I saw her talking to the Hexoren. And when I remembered, I was even more driven to get together with her. I thought if she was with me, my dad wouldn't hurt her." He rolled his eyes. "Wishful thinking. But the point is, even after she broke up with me and got back together with Daniel… I was… I was livid and I was destroyed and I thought I could do it. I thought I could go through with the plan and rule with E because… she was a part of Emma.

"But… E was not Emma. She was fun at first, but then she was so mean. She didn't care about anyone but herself and I thought I could put up with it. But when I saw her and Emma fighting in front of the vortex…" He shook his head." I couldn't do it. I'd helped put Emma in danger, but I could not go through with hurting her. I had to help her."

"But she didn't even apologize for ripping your heart out," Mia whispered.

"Do you honestly believe I deserved an apology at that point?" Jax whispered back.

"You were just hurt."

"I almost her let her clone destroy her."

"But you didn't. You saved her." Mia tapped Jax's chest with her index finger. "You saved her because of what's in here. You're so much better than you think you are."

Jax didn't comment on that statement. "After that, I deserved for her to never talk to me again. But… she wouldn't let Daniel or Andi come at me when they tried—and even Daniel could have done some damage right then because E had seriously injured my side when she attacked me. But Emma protected me. She protected me even after I…" He trailed off and shook his head. "_Gosh,_ I love her."

"Does she have any idea this side of you exists?" Mia murmured into his ear.

"She's… seen me with my walls down a couple of times, but… never like this."

"Well maybe you should show her sometime. Because given everything you've told me about the Glitter Queen, I think she would absolutely love you for it."

Jax laughed without humor. "Doubt it. Because I'm not Daniel." He turned to Mia and said, "You know, I deserved what happened. I deserved for her to never actually have feelings for me."

"You don't know she never did."

"Mia, we dated for like five days, nearly all of which she spent talking to Daniel or stealing glances at Daniel, and then she broke up with me and got back together with Daniel. Does it sound like she ever liked me?"

"Keep in mind, since you were trying to push her toward your dad's plan, you called her a regular old witch when she said she didn't want to 'push the magical boundaries' with you."

"I didn't mean it! I was trying to convince her to go along with it so I could protect her. I think she's anything but regular."

"Yeah, but she didn't know that!" the blonde pointed out. "Stuff like that mayyyy factor in to why you guys fought so much, not just her feelings for Daniel. But to answer your question—yes, I think she really did like you. Because E liked you."

"Barely."

"She did at first. And she was Emma's clone, so—"

"She was _physically_ Emma's clone, but I told you, she was not Emma. They were very different."

"I still think you're wrong," she declared. "I think Emma did like you. When and for how long, I don't know, but I think she did. And I think she can like you again. We just have to keep fake-dating and real-making out in front of her and she'll be yours once again in no time."

"But that's just it, Mia," Jax said hollowly. "She was never really mine in the first place."

Emma couldn't take it anymore; she made the screen disappear then fell back on her bed and bawled. A lump had materialized itself in her throat and her heart was beating so fast it was giving her anxiety. Never in her life had she felt this terrible. Never in her life had she felt this guilty. She hugged a pillow to her chest and said "I'm sorry, Jax" over and over again as if he could hear her.

Emma didn't know how long she cried for but she guessed it was about an hour. It was 10:36 PM when she looked at her alarm clock. Her head was throbbing but she absolutely needed to take care of something, meaning her headache was irrelevant. She dried her eyes, slid on a pair of shoes, climbed out her window, and marched across the street, terrified and determined.

* * *

Mrs. Miller came to the door twenty seconds after Emma rang the doorbell. "Emma?" she asked, surprised. "It's kind of late, don't you think?"

"I know, I'm sorry, Mrs. M," she said. "I just really need to talk to Daniel about something. Is it okay if I come in?"

The woman stepped aside and motioned her inside. "Is everything alright?"

"I don't know," she said truthfully.

"I think Daniel's still playing video games in the family room. You can go on in."

"Thank you, Mrs. M."

Daniel's house had always seemed so familiar but right now Emma felt like a stranger navigating the hallway. She shakily turned the doorknob and walked in, not even thinking to knock first.

"I know, Mom, I'm going to bed soon, I just want to beat this last—" Daniel turned to find the female standing in the room was not his mother, but his girlfriend. He hit pause on his game, stood, and smiled. "Oh! Emma. I wasn't expecting you—"

"How did you feel about me the first time you saw me?" she blurted.

He crinkled his eyebrows. "How did I feel about you?"

She nodded.

He sort of blushed. "Um, well, I thought you were really pretty," he said, a goofy grin on his face.

"And when we met at school?" Emma was on the verge of tears again. _Keep it together._ "How did you feel about me then?"

"Uh, I still thought you were pretty?" he said, confused as to where this was going. "And I thought you were really nice and I wanted to get to know you better."

"So you liked me."

"Well, yeah. Obviously." He tilted his head. "Emma, what's this about?"

She swallowed hard and said, "Okay, so from the moment we met, you liked me."

"Yeah… I just said—"

"What do you like about me?"

"Emma, I don't understand why—"

_"What do you like about me?"_

"Lots of things! I like that you're nice and I like when you smile and I… tolerate… your love of glitter and scrapbooking, but I think it's cute how you love those things so much. I like lots of things about you, Emma. You know that."

"I know that," she repeated, barely audibly. "I know that. Right. I-I'm sorry, I just… I should go…" She turned around to walk out the door but then she paused and turned back around. "Do you love me, Danny?"

Daniel's eyebrows shot up. "W-What?"

"Do you love me? That day at the vortex, with Evil Me… I was about to get sucked into the vortex and you were holding my hand and I said, 'I love you.' And you yelled, 'Noooo!' Why?"

"You were slipping out of my grasp! I didn't mean, 'No!' to what you said; I meant, 'Noooo, Emma's about to be sucked into a vortex!'"

"But you've never told me you love me," she said slowly, feeling like she was going to hurl. "And you've had plenty of opportunities since the vortex…"

"Emma…," was all he said.

"Do you love me?" she asked again.

"Where's this coming from?"

"Would you please just answer the question!"

He took a very deep breath, puffed out his cheeks, and slowly let it out. He mused his hair and said, "I don't know."

Time sort of stood still for a second and then Emma came back to herself and repeated, "You don't know."

"I mean, I _like_ you. A lot! But, love… I don't know. It's a big word."

"It's only four letters," she barely managed.

"Four very big letters," he pressed. "I just don't want to say it unless I'm sure I mean it, you know?"

_But you would know!_ Emma wanted to scream. _You would know because you'd feel… you'd feel…_

_Oh my gosh._

"I need to get home," Emma said after what felt like an eternity of just standing there in silence.

"Look, Emma, I—"

"Really, Daniel, I need to get home," she repeated.

"I-I'll walk you!"

"That's okay. I'll walk myself."

"I didn't mean to—"

"I'll see you tomorrow."

"Are things better?" Mrs. Miller asked from the den as Emma walked past her. But the young witch didn't reply. She only walked home, climbed through her window, laid in bed, and stared at the ceiling the entire night.

At 6:37 AM, she finally got an idea.

At 6:40 AM, she did some research online.

By 7:00 AM, she had her plan.

* * *

"Whoa whoa whoa—you _want_ me to lie?" Andi asked incredulously.

"Just this once," Emma whispered. There was one minute until the late bell for fifth period rang and the girls were standing off to the side of the hallway.

"Why won't you tell me what this is about?"

"Andi, I promise, I'll explain everything later. Just please cover for me."

"But—"

"Pleeeeease." Emma clasped her hands together and pouted.

Her best friend heaved a sigh. "Alright, alright, I'll say you're in the nurse's office. But I expect details tonight!"

"Done." Emma held out her pinky and the girls shook. "Thank you, Andi, you're the most awesome friend a girl could ask for!"

"Yeah, yeah…" She walked off in the direction of their math class, muttering to herself about how this was bogus.

Emma heaved a sigh of relief. Now that that was taken care of, she just needed to sneak out and—

"Emma?"

She froze then turned around to find none other than her boyfriend, also known as the guy she'd been avoiding all morning.

"Daniel," she said flatly.

"There you are," he said with a smile as he approached her. "I haven't seen you all day."

"Really now."

"Why were you going toward the exit door? Don't you and Andi have math right—" The late bell rang. He closed his eyes and exhaled through his nose. "Now. That'll be another week's detention from your dad…"

"I'm not going to class. I have to do something."

"Wait. You're—You're cutting class?" he asked, both surprised and disappointed.

"Yes, Daniel, I'm cutting class."

"Why?"

"None of your business."

"Are you still upset with me about last night?" he asked. "Because I wasn't trying to—"

"Okay, actually, there's something I need to say to you," she cut in. "I was going to wait until last period to do this, but… why keep putting it off?" She took a deep breath then said, "I'm breaking up with you."

Daniel stared at her for a second before stuttering, "Y-You're what?"

"I'm breaking up with you," she repeated in monotone.

"But—Emma—come on—"

"Daniel, let's not do this—"

"This is all because I didn't want to say the L-word until I was sure?"

"This is because if you loved me, you'd _know_."

He was at a loss for words. "But I like you a lot. A lot, a lot. Doesn't that count for anything?"

She slowly shrugged then said, "No. It doesn't." And with that, she walked out the door to the parking lot, leaving Daniel alone in the hallway.

* * *

Miami MX Park was only about a ten-minute walk from Iridium High. When Emma arrived, there were motocross racers going super fast on the track. She walked up to the little shack where you paid the fee and all that stuff and stepped inside. It was a nice place and, luckily for her, there were no customers currently at the front desk. Only a man who looked to be in maybe his forties was manning the counter.

Emma smoothed her uniform skirt and walked on up. "Excuse me?"

The man, whose name tag read BRENT, looked up from the motocross magazine he'd been pawing through and turned to her. He stifled a laugh as he took her in. Emma could feel him judging her, which made her feel a whole lot less guilty for what she was about to do.

"You lost, little girl?" he asked with a crooked smile.

Emma forced a smile of her own. "No. I need to ask you a favor."

"A favor?" This Brent guy seemed more and more amused by the second. "And what might that be?"

"I need to rent out your track tonight."

"No can do. This place closes at 2:00 PM on Fridays, no exceptions. Not to mention we don't rent the track out to private parties, though if we did, I'm sure it's not something a teenage girl could afford."

"Oh, it's not."

His eyebrows drew together. "You on somethin'? Because you ain't making any sense—"

_"This man's a fool_

_ And I can't pay_

_ So from now on_

_ He'll do as I say."_

Once the spell hit him, he closed his eyes for a moment and then slowly reopened them. "What's going on?"

"You're letting me rent out the entire track tonight," Emma stated. "For free."

"I am? Uh, I am. Okay…"

"But first, you're making everyone leave early. Right now."

Brent reached beneath the front desk and extracted a microphone. "Attention, everyone: we are closing early today, so you must leave now," his voice boomed over the intercom. "I repeat, everyone get out now!"

"Thanks." Emma felt herself smirking, but she couldn't help it. This guy had been such a jerk and now he was clueless. It was pretty funny.

It took a few minutes, but eventually everyone was gone and the track was empty. Emma hurried out there and observed what was now her canvas. _I hope I studied enough element spells…_ she thought as she got to work.

* * *

At the end of the school day, Jax found a note in his locker. It was typed and read:

_Jax,_

_Go to Miami MX Park after school. Ask Brent what's up._

He stared at the note for a few seconds, trying to figure out what this was about. Mia had gone home early because she was "sick" (aka she wanted to enter some radio contest that was giving away free concert tickets). Apparently she'd had a bit of time on her hands.

There was no swim practice since it was Friday, so Jax grabbed his things and immediately headed over to Miami MX. The parking lot was empty, obviously, since the hours on Fridays were 9:00 AM to 2:00 PM. Except for one old beat-up pick-up truck which Jax happened to know belonged to Brent, the sleazy guy who manned the front desk. He parked his bike and walked inside to find Brent staring at him in an almost trance-like state.

"Uh, sup, Brent," he said, eying him curiously.

"Mr. Novoa!" Brent lit up in a way he literally never had before. "Welcome! You're alone, right?"

Suddenly Jax was really glad he was athletic, had magic powers, and had his cell phone in the pocket of his jeans. "Yeah…"

"Good. I was given strict orders by a pretty little girl to keep everyone except for you out."

Jax stifled a laugh. Wait until he told Mia this creep was referring to her as a _pretty little girl. _"Right. And why exactly were you given these orders?"

He motioned to the track. "Go out and see for yourself."

Obviously he was referring to the track being empty. This guy was so weird in general, but under the influence of magic? Priceless!

"Will do."

Jax walked out to the parking lot once more, but before he rode his bike back to the track, he extracted his cell phone from his pocket and dialed Mia.

"I WON THE TICKETS!" she hollered as soon as she picked up. "Life is so awesome when you have magic powers to get you whatever you want!"

"Yeah, you proved that with the little spell you cast on Brent," he laughed.

"Who?"

"Thanks for this, Mia, but I'm not depressed. You didn't have to do this."

There was a pause and then, "Am I supposed to know what we're talking about, or…?"

"Miami MX?" he said, oozing _duh_.

"I have no idea what you're talking about."

Jax rolled his eyes. Of course she wouldn't want to own up to doing something nice for someone. "Yeah, okay. By the way, Brent was creeping on you."

"Who is Brent?!"

"Bye, Mia."

Jax hung up, put on his helmet, and rode his bike out back. He was enjoying having the track to himself so much that he didn't even realize until his third time around there were letters etched into the perimeter. He brought his bike to a stop, climbed off, and read what they said:

_I'm so sorry for hurting you. You're the best. I'm the one who doesn't deserve you. I love you. —Em_

Jax read the words over and over until he had the message memorized. The script was so girly there was no way it belonged to Mia, and besides, she'd never do something as cruel as fake this sort of a message from Emma. Not after what he'd told her last night. But this didn't make any sense. He'd only actually said out loud that he didn't deserve Emma last night, and it had been to _Mia_ while no one else was around. So if she hadn't done this…

Then Jax remembered Brent and the fact that, earlier today, he'd seen Andi walking alone into a class he knew she and Emma had together.

Without another thought, he tele-transported to Emma's room.

She was sitting on her bed, hugging her knees to her chest. She didn't even jump when he appeared; she was already expecting him. She'd changed out of her school uniform and was now wearing a purple tank top and white denim shorts. As soon as Jax materialized completely, she climbed off her bed and stood on the floor, a few feet in front of him.

The two only stared at each other for a moment, trying to get their bearings. And then—

"You used the TV screen spell I taught you," he stated.

She struggled with her words. "I… Yes. I did. I-I'm really sorry that I…" And then she was talking really fast. "What you were saying to Mia was really personal and I shouldn't have listened, it wasn't my business, but I-I thought you were legit dating her and I was trying to convince myself to stop thinking about you so I thought if I saw how you guys interacted maybe it would make me be happy for you because I really wasn't, I was so jealous and I missed you so much, and I…"

Emma was amazed Jax hadn't cut her off yet. He was just staring at her the way he'd stared at her in the hallway after their second kiss (well, fourth if she counted his two kisses with E). So she kept going, only at a more normal rate this time.

"Last year… When I met you… I felt something for you, too. And it scared me. A lot. Because I was dating Daniel and I'd been through so much to be with him, I was determined to stay with him. So I just tried to… I tried to push what I felt for you way deep down, and I guess when I made E, she got some of my attraction to you."

She took a breath. "I remember… I remember noticing how upset you looked when I said I wasn't the one who kissed you. But…" She shrugged, feeling tears begin to pool in her eyes. "I was so wrapped up in my own drama, I didn't ask. And that was very selfish of me and I'm sorry. And then you said E was better than me so I got miffed—"

"I'm sorry I said that," Jax interjected. "I was wrong."

She smiled. "And… when Daniel broke up with me, I was really shaken up. I got together with you before I was over him, which was wrong of me, because… not only did that screw up our entire relationship, but I also hurt you in the process. What you said that day? At the vortex? About how I didn't care about you? You were wrong. I did care about you. I just… I was being really selfish—again—while we were dating. I'm so sorry."

"Emma, you don't have to—"

"Yes, I do. You deserve to hear it. You _need_ to hear it." She took another breath and continued, "I didn't know about your dad. I didn't know he was the one pushing you to… do what you did."

Jax went absolutely pale at the realization she'd heard him talk about his dad's plan.

"Don't worry!" she said quickly, immediately detecting his fear. "I'm not mad at you. You didn't go through with it. And the fact that you didn't just shows what a good wizard you are, and I just…" She closed her eyes as tears streamed down her cheeks. "I just wish so bad you believed me because you really are, and the fact that you don't think you are kills me, and—"

"Em." Jax pulled her into a hug and she sobbed into his shoulder. He rubbed her back and held her while she calmed down. "Em, don't cry. You're such an angel…"

She pulled away and composed herself enough to speak again. "What you said… about falling in love with me…" Another tear trickled down her cheek. "That was the most beautiful thing I have ever heard in my life. And… Your and Mia's plan definitely worked." She chuckled. "I was beyond jealous."

"We shouldn't have done that—"

"No, I'm glad you did! Because it… it made me address that feeling I'd pushed deep down so long ago… the one I felt for you but never Daniel. And… After I heard you say what you said, I went over to Daniel's. And I asked him if he loved me. And he said he didn't know—"

Jax snorted. "_Wow_."

"I know," Emma said, rolling her eyes. "I broke up with him today, by the way. But I'm glad he said that because… then he tried to explain himself by saying he didn't want to say he loved me unless he was sure he did, and I just—after hearing you say what you said, I couldn't accept his answer, and besides that… when he said he wasn't sure… I just knew that… if he did love me, he'd know." Emma's teeth started chattering as she took Jax's hand in hers. "And I knew that because… suddenly I knew that I'm not in love with Daniel, because I finally figured out what the feeling I have for you is." Heart fighting its way out of her chest, Emma said, "I'm in love with you, Jax."

Jax took Emma's face in his hands and they kissed more passionately than they'd ever kissed before. And then they kissed again. And again. For a really long time. And then Jax convinced Emma to go to Miami MX and ride the dirt bike trail with him—he even conjured up a glittery purple helmet for her. It was exhilarating and thrilling and intimate and Emma was scared out of her mind but at the same time she wasn't because she knew Jax would never let her get hurt; he would always protect her. She had a feeling they'd be coming back here next Friday to do the same thing—it wasn't like Brent was going to stop them—because 1) it was a blast and 2) this was now Their Place.

Emma held onto Jax for the next who knew how many hours as they rode around the track, grinning the entire time. They'd have to stop once it got dark, but Emma could have done this for the rest of her life. Jemma was finally together-together, for real. Jax was no longer tied to some evil plan of his father's; Emma no longer had heart ties to Daniel. They were both finally free to love each other without anything or anyone getting in the way.

Being in love felt beyond amazing.

* * *

**Something I forgot to mention in the story is how, back when Jemma dated in s2, Jax didn't have his powers so he couldn't do cute magical things (like make a rose appear on her lunch tray like he did at the end of the s2 finale) to express his love for her. Now that they're together at the end of this story and he has his powers, he can do those cute magical things for his Em.**


End file.
